Child safety seats are designed to protect children in vehicles from the effects of impacts or other sudden changes in motion. Child safety seats, commonly referred to simply as car seats, may be embodied in a number of different forms and be used in a variety of vehicles with a variety of seating configurations. It is important for a child safety seat to securely retain an occupant and limit movement of that occupant, particularly during an impact.
Some child safety seats are configured to securely attach to a vehicle seat either by use of the vehicle seat belt or by use of anchor points within the vehicle and connectors attached to the child safety seat, such as LATCH (lower anchors and tethers for children) anchor points and connectors. These child safety seats may include a separate harness to secure an occupant to the child safety seat while the vehicle seat belt or the LATCH system secures the child safety seat to the vehicle. Other child safety seats, and in particular some seat belt positioning booster seats are unsecured to the vehicle seat, but once an occupant is in the booster seat, the vehicle seat belt is used to secure both the occupant and the booster seat to the vehicle seat.
Vehicle seat-belts are designed to comfortably accommodate occupants up to full-size adults. A seat belt designed to accommodate and protect a six-foot adult may not provide adequate protection for a child. As such, seat belt positioning booster seats are designed to re-position a vehicle seat belt to more appropriately accommodate children, often from around 30 inches tall and 30 lbs until they can be adequately protected by the use of a vehicle seat belt without the belt-positioning booster. As belt-positioning boosters use the vehicle seat belt for securing an occupant of the booster to the vehicle, the booster seat itself may not need to be secured to the vehicle. However, it may be desirable to secure a belt-positioning booster and/or a booster seat base to a vehicle such that the booster seat is not unintentionally moved while unoccupied or when an occupant is entering or exiting the booster seat.
Securing child safety seats within a vehicle may be an important factor in ensuring the performance and intended function of the safety seat is optimized. Cumbersome attachment mechanisms or confusing attachment steps may reduce the likelihood of a child safety seat being properly installed and secured within a vehicle. It may be desirable to have an easier, less cumbersome attachment means for securing various embodiments of child safety seats within a vehicle.